Dates are increasingly being included in a variety of food products such as muffins, cakes, cookies, syrups, spreads, and sauces. They are marketed as an allergen-free and low-glycemic alternative to traditional sweeteners like sugar, honey, maple syrup, and agave. However, similar to many dried fruits, dates are not low in calories. Often referred to as “nature’s candy” due to their high sugar content, a 100-gram serving of dates contains 277 calories and 75 grams of carbohydrates. This serving also offers 7 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, and 20% of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Reference Daily Intake for potassium. These nutritional benefits may be driving an increased demand for dates.
Many consumers are looking to reduce their sugar intake, leading to a decline in per capita consumption of sugar and caloric sweeteners for the third consecutive year in 2017. As people move away from refined sugars, manufacturers are taking notice, incorporating more alternative sweeteners, including dates, into their products. For instance, Kellogg utilizes date paste in its Special K Nourish Chewy Nut Bars and Bear Naked bars. Additionally, the startup D’vash Organics, known for its organic and non-GMO date nectar, has expanded its offerings to include cayenne-infused date nectar and packaged date syrup in squeeze bottles. The company has successfully marketed what one of its co-founders describes as “the Middle Eastern superfood.”
Dates are also being sold individually, with Dole Food Company’s Made In Nature brand offering date snack packs. However, the majority of producers are smaller companies, such as Date Lady, Hadley Fruit Orchards, Amazing Coachella, Terrasoul Superfoods, and We Got Nuts. While dates are cultivated in Arizona, California, and Florida, the U.S. production is significantly smaller compared to that of Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. exports fresh dates to countries like Australia, Canada, and the U.K., but imports a much larger volume from Tunisia, Israel, and Pakistan, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.
According to Mordor Intelligence, global date consumption is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 4% from 2019 to 2024. As dates fulfill multiple consumer demands—being a better-for-you, plant-based, natural sweetener that is lower in glycemic index and allergen-free—the trend is likely to continue upward. We can anticipate seeing dates feature in more products over time, including innovative offerings like Barinutrics calcium chewy bites, which may also leverage the health benefits of dates.